Hey - my name is Rebecca Lawyer and I'm fundraising on behalf of Jessica Gordash and her 6 year old son, Ellis.

On August 9th, 2022, Ellis was diagnosed with Leukaemia ALL. The leukaemia had not spread to his spinal fluid or brain. Ellis then began 2.5 years of treatment. There were rollercoasters and scares throughout, but he had optimal outcomes. Ellis completed treatment on October 14th, 2024, and completed meds on April 16th, 2025.

On August 3rd, 2025, Ellis was diagnosed with a leukaemia relapse that was more severe than before. Leukaemia was found in his bone marrow, spinal fluid, and in a large tumour found behind his left eye. Reinduction phase began, and that ended on August 29th.

Ellis is in a "yellow" risk zone due to the relapse and severity, so will be moving forward with preparing for stem cell therapy and other therapies. Jessica and Ellis live in Medicine Hat, but travel weekly to Calgary for Ellis' treatments. As such, she is missing a lot of work as well as having the added expenses of travelling to a city she doesn't have a home in.

On August 23rd, the tumour behind Ellis's eye was shrinking. He was still dealing with very limited vision in that eye, but they were hopeful that once the tumour shrank, his vision would return. Also, leukaemia cells were dying off quickly and Ellis was reacting optimally to chemotherapy and other meds.

Today is October 13th, and Jessica and Ellis have been staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Calgary since September 24th. Before that, they were admitted to ACH for 2 weeks. Ellis received strong chemo for several days , which caused side effects such as fatigue, skin rashes, fever, sores, and thrush on his tongue. Thankfully, the meds he has been taking, have worked and he is feeling much better now. He is eating and drinking and slowly getting his evergy back. Ellis has been approved for Car T-cell therapy and will be starting that treatment soon, although there is no set date yet. The tumour behind his eye has shrunk a lot, but is still there. He has vision in the eye, but the optical nerve was damaged by the tumour, so his vision is diminished, very blurry, and he has lost a lot of his peripheral vision. That may never heal, but we still have hope!

Nothing is certain...Jessica is taking things a day at a time and celebrating the victories. Please, when thinking of Ellis, see him as a healthy, happy, vibrant boy. He needs us to stay positive and confident in his healing journey.

Please consider donating to help Jessica and Ellis get through this time without also having to stress about finances and how bills are going to be paid. Every dollar counts - anything you can give is greatly appreciated and will help Jessica and Ellis exponentially.

Thank you. Much Love❤️